The fertilization of plants is as old as human civilization. The notion of supplementing soil with natural and synthetic sources of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and minerals to stimulate robust plant growth is well known. As a result, plants have been fertilized with animal manures, vegetative composts, seaweed, fish and animal byproducts, and synthetic aqueous soluble fertilizer compositions. While all of these approaches have met with a degree of success, there is a growing appreciation that improved plant growth and management of soil nutrients is obtained by improving the physical, chemical, and biochemical properties of soil, thereby promoting a vibrant soil ecosystem to benefit plant growth. A thriving soil ecosystem promotes the breakdown of complex substances into a form in which the nutrients contained therein are available to the plant. Additionally, the soil ecosystem through metabolism tends to meter nutrients to the plant at a rate that promotes better plant growth, as compared to soil dosing with water soluble nutrients.
Due to the intensive cultivation methods used in current conventional agricultural practices, there is a realization that manure alone, or fertilizers alone, is a relatively inefficient use of these resources causing pollution of the aqueous and atmospheric environments, and the degradation of soil quality. Therefore, there is a continuing need for new soil amendments capable of conserving natural resources and improving soil properties.
An all-natural soil amendment that provides many advantages over current chemical fertilizers has been invented. First, the use of composted manure provides a vast population of microbes. Microbes are the life of the soil and an indispensable component in healthy soil. Microbes digest organic matter and break down nutrients in the soil into a form that the plant can use. Second the soil improving composition provides a home for the microbes in the form of calcite, so the microbial population expands rapidly. We are providing and rapidly rebuilding the structure to the soil where the microbes will live and thrive. This improved soil structure also helps to hold or release water and nutrients needed by the plant. Third, commercial fertilizers tear down organic matter in the soil, while the soil improving composition helps to build up organic matter in the soil. Fourth, healthy soil results in a healthier, more robust, plant that is less susceptible to disease, resulting in larger yields of grain or fruit. And finally, the soil improving composition breaks free soil bound nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which are locked in the soil. These nutrients can then be converted into a form which can be utilized by the plant—a process which reduces the need for added synthetic fertilizers and thereby reduces the negative impact that synthetic fertilizers have on the environment.